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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29274981">Song: Ace of Cups (Minor Arcana)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyFalcia/pseuds/LadyFalcia'>LadyFalcia</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Minor Arcana [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shall We Date?: Obey Me!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Singing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 03:54:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,387</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29274981</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyFalcia/pseuds/LadyFalcia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The start of love, inspired creativity that is nurtured by fruitfulness and happy times. Artistic excellence, a love affair, marriage, betrothal or a birth. All affairs of the heart will prosper.</p><p>***</p><p>Asmodeus and Sariel are helping clean up after dinner, allowing them to talk alone for the first time since they made their pact. Asmodeus is surprised and delighted when Sariel joins in with his singing.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Asmodeus (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Minor Arcana [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2149947</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Obey me! Because I am sad</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Song: Ace of Cups (Minor Arcana)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>The Minor Arcana series is a companion series to my Major Arcana series. This is where smaller pieces that don't have much relevance to the overall plot can be collected, like an anthology of short stories. The Major Arcana is a semi-retelling of Shall We Date: Obey Me! with an original character, Sariel, and her burgeoning romances with Mammon, Avatar of Greed and Asmodeus, Avatar of Lust. It's written from the perspective of Mammon and Asmodeus, with some guest characters for certain pieces.</p><p>Works will be uploaded in the order that they are written, rather than necessarily in continuity order, but I will try to place them in the right order in the series.</p><p> </p><p>  <em>Ace of Cups is set shortly after Temperance.</em></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="center"><p>
  
</p>
<h1>ACE OF CUPS</h1><p class="tarot-meaning">
  The start of love, inspired creativity that is nurtured by fruitfulness and happy times. Artistic excellence, a love affair, marriage, betrothal or a birth. All affairs of the heart will prosper. 
</p></div><p class="divider">***</p>
<h2>SONG</h2><p>"Hmmm. Are you more beautiful than yesterday?"</p><p>Asmodeus didn't take his gaze off his new pact master, who was currently washing dishes in a bowl piled high with suds, his amber eyes tracing over her features. Her skin did look a little dewier, her eyes more bright, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was the tinge of pink that blossomed on her cheeks and the way she glanced over at him and raised both her eyebrows. He grinned in anticipation. He <em>loved</em> this, the playful game of back-and-forth, so much more enticing than passive acceptance or rejection.</p><p>Sariel spoke, her expression lifting into a smile, "I don't really remember what I looked like yesterday, so you'll have to tell me, I'm afraid."</p><p>"I think you are, but let me check more thoroughly, just to be absolutely sure." He reached out, taking her chin in his delicate fingers and gently turning her head one way and then the other to get a better look. He knew he was leaning in just a little too close, finally comfortable enough to actually enjoy the feel of her skin beneath his fingertips, her scent and her warmth and how it all combined into a magnetic <em>pull</em> towards her. He knew she felt it too. Even now, her weight was shifting onto her toes, leaning in. When he moved towards her, she moved towards him, as if they were two parts of a single reflection, inexorably drawn together.</p><p>But only for a heartbeat. She stopped drifting towards him and gently leaned back instead, until she was slightly further back than where she'd started. Her eyes were exactly the blue of a sea under a stormy sky, and she tilted her head questioningly as his gaze lingered, tracing out the shape of her pink-kissed lips. <em>Oh, I would so love to eat you all up, my dear Sariel.</em></p><p>"Well?" She looked amused, "Do you have a verdict?"</p><p>He let go and smiled back, "Oh yes, no doubt about it, you are definitely more beautiful than yesterday." He retrieved his hand to lightly touch his chest, letting out a soft chuckle, "If you keep it up, in a few thousand years you might be as beautiful as me!"</p><p>Sariel laughed, her voice rich, turning back to the plates but sending him a glance as her hands started moving again, "I don't think anyone could be as beautiful as you, Asmodeus." She paused thoughtfully, something on her mind, "I suppose I look better today since I actually got some decent sleep last night. The sleepover at Diavolo's castle was a lot of fun but it wasn't exactly restful."</p><p>Asmodeus let out a bright, bell-like laugh, "Maybe, but it was sooo exciting! I loved every minute, but I think I enjoyed making a pact with you the most." He stepped closer and reached out, fondly twining a lock of her silvery-brown hair through his fingers, marvelling at how soft it was. "You enjoyed it too, right?"</p><p>He let out half a breath in surprise as she settled back into him at his touch, resting her back against his chest while her hands continued to clean dishes and place them neatly in the drying rack. She was shorter than him, but not short enough to let him tuck her head under his chin. Instead, he leant his head to one side, watching her face curiously from out of the corner of his eye. He felt her voice humming in his chest as she spoke, a smile touching her lips, "I did, though I wasn't expecting you to change your mind so..." She paused, licking her lips deliciously, "...enthusiastically. Especially so quickly."</p><p>The Avatar of Lust smirked, enjoying the unexpected contact, deliberately ignoring his instinct to slide an arm around her waist and pull her more snugly against him. The conversation about boundaries was still fresh in his mind and, with it, the tantalising promise of earning her trust.</p><p>He dropped his head a little instead, resting his chin on her shoulder, his tone playful, "Whatever do you mean?" He tilted his head so he could see her face in his peripheral vision.</p><p>Sariel lifted up a plate and slotted it in the dishrack before answering, a tiny frown between her brows. "I really thought that you weren't interested in having a pact with me at all. You seemed angry at me for even suggesting it." A sudden smile, sun through clouds, "And you set me a nearly impossible challenge, too."</p><p>Asmodeus chuckled, turned a little more so he could lean his cheek against her shoulder, "Ah, <em>that<em>." He paused, embarrassed at how it had seemed so important to deny her, "I was being silly. I thought... well, that you could be dangerous." He hooked his thumbs into the pockets of his pants, eyes lifting to see her expression, smiling, "Of course, I don't think that any more!"</em></em></p><p>She frowned, looking confused, and then suddenly laughed, the sound bright and shimmering in the air, "You... you thought I was dangerous? Me? The only non-magical human in the Devildom? Seriously?"</p><p>He pouted, half-heartedly considering sticking his tongue out at her at the flagrant mockery, but eventually decided against it since he'd only just got comfortable. He whined petulantly, "You were immune to my charms, and you kept making pacts with my brothers! But after I felt your power for myself..." He reached up with one hand to drag the backs of his fingers down the length of her arm, "...I knew that I could give myself to you."</p><p>Sariel shivered, flexing her arm and pushing away his touch after a second, "Asmo..."</p><p>Asmodeus chuckled, enjoying the way she was breathing slightly too quickly and the sudden warmth against his chest, "Ah, too much? Sorry! I'll remember. Though if you do want something, you can always ask..."</p><p>She paused for a moment, and when she spoke her voice was lined with amusement, "How about drying the dishes, like you're supposed to be doing?"</p><p>He sighed, glancing at the dishrack and noting that it was still only half full, "But you wash soooo slowly!"</p><p>"Hey!"</p><p>"Oh come, we both know you take forever washing dishes. I don't know why though, don't you know how bad it is for your hands?"</p><p>Sariel's tone was getting grumpy, her shoulder all tensed up under his ear and completely ruining his warm pillow, "That's because that's how long it takes me, okay? I'm just a normal, non-dangerous human and it takes me a while to do the dishes."</p><p>"Aww, you're not mad at me, are you?" He finally straightened up, careful not to cause her to fall, returning his hand back to his pocket, "You know I'd be happy to wait for decades as long as I could snuggle with you. But really, you shouldn't take that long, your skin would be <em>dreadful!</em>"</p><p>To his delight, she chuckled, leaning back more against him and letting out a long sigh, "Fine, but once the dishrack is full, you need to get to work."</p><p>"But what if I'm already comfortable?" The scent of her hair was intoxicating, a blend of strawberry and vanilla that made him want to drag his tongue up her neck, just to see if she tasted as good as it promised. <em>Hmm, I'm sure I'll find out eventually...</em></p><p>She snorted, tilting her head a little as if she was trying to catch a glimpse of him, which he couldn't blame her for. "I don't care. Do it or feel my displeasure." The tone was light and playful, with only a faint threat twined through it, but even so, Asmodeus' eyes narrowed with interest.</p><p>The Avatar of Lust leaned in so he could speak in a whisper, "Oooh, your displeasure, hmm? I didn't realise you were such a tease, Sariel. Not that I'm complaining, of course."</p><p>"All right, that's it. Go dry the dishes already." She shoved back against him, regaining her balance and pushing him half a step backwards.</p><p>Asmodeus chuckled, moving over towards the plates and starting to dry them with only a few dramatic sighs at his rough treatment. He picked up the baking tray he was drying, holding it up to the light and tilting it this way and that, but it was simply too blurry to really reflect his beauty.</p><p>He was several dishes in and almost caught up when he began to hum. Nothing in particular, just a little nonsense tune under his breath as he dried one of the large pots they used for family meals. He thought nothing of it until another voice, gentle and warm, joined his, melding with his tune like an absent lover sliding back into his embrace.</p><p>He glanced over to Sariel, the humming dying in his throat as he noticed that she had stopped washing the dishes and was watching him instead, a little smile on her lips. As he paused, she also fell silent, one eyebrow quirking up in an unspoken question.</p><p>Asmodeus felt a smile light up his face as a thought occurred to him and he began to softly sing. He didn't bother with words, the song soft and lilting as he pealed out the notes, making sure to keep them all in the same key. Sariel probably wouldn't know any of the Devildom's songs, and besides, this way it would be just for them. A mayfly melody that no one else could sing.</p><p>His heart began to quicken at how her eyes brightened at his song and she took a step forwards, the dishes forgotten. She opened her mouth, her song winding its way around his. Her voice was pure, sweet and touched with some unidentifiable emotion that only enhanced its beauty. As the two voices blended together into sweeping harmonies, he found himself stepping forward to close the remaining distance. </p><p>There was something about the way it felt to have her sing with him, to follow his song as he poured it from his heart, not matching the tune but instead weaving an exquisite counterpoint, that was achingly intimate. Something warm.</p><p>The Avatar of Lust bent his head down towards her, letting the song drift softer as he gently reached out, his fingers sliding to cup her chin, a thumb drawing a feather-light touch along one cheek.</p><p>Sariel stared back up at him, her voice becoming quieter as he leaned in closer, the melody wrapping around them and casting its own spell. Her eyes really were <em>so</em> beautiful, deep blue with a touch of steel, the light catching them and making them shine like jewels.</p><p><em>I wish I could kiss you.</em> Instead, he gently tilted his head forward and rested his forehead against hers, his eyes closing as his song turned breathy and finally drifted off into silence.</p><p>Her music lasted only a heartbeat more, replaced with the soft noise of her breath, and the feel of its warmth ghosting across his lips.</p><p>He smiled, whispered, surprise and admiration tinging his words, "You can sing."</p><p>She chuckled, her voice equally soft and laden with awe, "So can you."</p><p>Asmodeus smirked wryly, eventually he would taste her lips, he was sure of it. Perhaps not today, but-</p><p>Beneath his hand, he felt Sariel tilt her head back and lean in towards him.</p><p class="divider">***</p><p>Mammon grumbled as he wandered towards the kitchen, idly flicking a Grimm between his fingers as he ambled down the stairs. Sariel hadn't been in her room, or his, and it had taken him a few minutes to remember she was on wash-up duty.</p><p>
  <em>Stupid Lucifer, bad enough I had to miss dinner 'cos of that punishment, without leavin' Sariel all alone. I bet she's been missin' me.</em>
</p><p>His smirk turned into a frown as he tilted his head and caught the Grimm between his fingertips, sliding it into a pocket as he quickened his steps. Music was coming from the kitchen. It was lovely, but it didn't sound like the kind of thing Sariel listened to, it was almost more like something that Lucifer-</p><p>He stopped in the doorway, stunned.</p><p>His human, face-to-face with Asmodeus, the sound of their voices the music he'd heard. The Avatar of Lust's hand was on her cheek, the song getting quieter as they slowly leaned in towards each other.</p><p>Mammon felt a knot twist in his stomach, a sharp intake of breath, ready to loudly protest, only to fall silent as Asmo's amber eyes closed and he gently leant his head against Sariel's, just resting there for a moment.</p><p><em>Wait, hang on a freakin' minute... His eyes are yellow, so he isn't channelin' lust right now?</em> The knot suddenly loosened and he smirked, high on the surge of relief. Maybe the conversation the other day had actually stuck, by some miracle, and he might, <em>might</em>, be able to trust his little brother around Sariel after all.</p><p>On the other hand, why take the chance? Plus they hadn't noticed him yet. This kind of opportunity didn't come along all that often.</p><p>The yell was as loud and obnoxious as he could make it, while still struggling to contain the grin on his face, "Hey! What did I say about too close?! And being alone with Sariel, for that matter, too!"</p><p>Sariel leapt back like she'd been struck by lightning, away from Asmodeus and staggered back into the Avatar of Greed, who'd crossed the distance just so he could catch her. He wrapped an arm protectively around her torso, giving Asmo a vindictive smirk. <em>I'm watchin' ya, Asmo.</em></p><p>Asmodeus recovered much more quickly, only jumping slightly before relaxing and rolling his eyes, "Mammon! I guess it was too much to ask that we'd be able to finish this before you turned up. And I already told you, I don't care what you think, only what Sariel thinks." The fifth-born crossed his arms, staring at Mammon with a petulant frown.</p><p>Mammon sputtered, "It's not about that, you should just respect me as your older brother!"</p><p>Another eye-roll, as Asmo picked up the tea-towel and went back to drying dishes, "Haven't we already had this conversation?"</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for mossymoon for being my beta reader and for your suggestions! :)</p><p>I didn't quite get it out for Valentine's Day, but it's only half-past midnight so I'm going to call it a win.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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